Sunday, April 8, 2012

Needle Felted Taxidermy

The third and final quarter of my Certificate of Fiber Arts is under way and I am creating a big faux taxidermy piece for my final project.  But I have a lot of thing to work out first before I can start to work on the final.  Like how it will hang on the wall and how will I make it to the correct scale and how I will finish the wool after it is needle felted.

So I am making studies on a much smaller scale to start to work out my process.  I figure I will have to do 5-6 small critters to work out all the kinks.   This little rabbit was actually going to be made into a jackalope but I like how he looks now.  I may make another one with horns.  Next I am thinking to make a cat or bird head.  I ordered some glass taxidermy eyes to try and make them even a little spookier.  How to hang them is my biggest issue.  Do I build in a wire that is hidden or do I mount them on a trophy base?  That's where the prototypes come in. 
I have a lot of work ahead of me!

3 comments:

  1. I think this is powerfully felt ( no pun intended ) piece.Very expressive and convincing, with many elements that come together to really bring it alive. For example, the flattened planes of the forehead above the (well chosen ) glass eyes.
    It's wonderful when realism and the childs' approach ( the cartoon p.o.v. ) come together to make a magical object.
    Salutations.

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  2. Thanks! And those are actually needle felted eyes, not glass ones.

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